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University of North Carolina Athletics
Garrison Brooks
Photo by: Maggie Hobson
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
November 8, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the visit to UNCW.
By Adam Lucas
1. We're not even ten days into November and Carolina has an Atlantic Coast Conference win and a road win. That's a pretty good start, even if it hasn't always been artistic. Friday night's win was a 78-62 decision over UNC Wilmington.
2. Great night for Justin Pierce, who had a double-double before halftime. The graduate transfer did a little bit of everything, scoring from the outside (four three-pointers) and also hitting the offensive glass hard. Pierce had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
3. Carolina never really got into a rotation rhythm, due partially to Armando Bacot picking up two fouls in the first two minutes of the game. When Roy Williams tried to get Bacot back into the game later in the first half, the freshman big man suffered a blow to the head and had to go to the Carolina locker room. That led to both Brandon Huffman and Walker Miller getting some spot minutes in the post.
4. After taking 24 shots on Wednesday night (the most any Tar Heel has taken in the Roy Williams era), Cole Anthony took another 24 shots on Friday. With such a high shot volume, this might sound a little odd, but it never really felt like Anthony was overly forcing his offense. It's pretty simple: at this point in the year, the freshman is going to be the Tar Heels' primary offensive option while also playing the first- or second-most minutes on the team. Anthony didn't go to the bench in the second half until Carolina had stretched the lead to 20 points, and even then he only sat for a minute. Anthony poured in 20 points, including a highlight reel second half dunk. And you have to love this from a scorer--he even took a second half charge and also posted his second straight double-double while grabbing ten rebounds.
5. With Bacot out, Garrison Brooks shouldered a significant amount of the rebounding load, as he grabbed a career-high 13 boards and finished with his first career double-double (18 points and 13 rebounds). The junior big man has given Carolina a little bit of everything in the first two games, and also has been Carolina's best free throw shooter. He was overshadowed by Anthony on Wednesday and Pierce on Friday, but he has been terrific so far.
6. Areas that improved from Wednesday's season opener: the Tar Heel defense in transition was much tighter, limiting the Seahawks to six fast break points. Carolina took better care of the ball, committing just seven turnovers. Areas that weren't improved: UNC free throw shooting, hitting just 16 of 28 from the line (Carolina was 10-for-17 at the line against Notre Dame). And although UNCW missed some shots (the Seahawks shot just 19 percent from the three-point line), Carolina's overall defense suffered some breakdowns, as the undersized Seahawks actually held a 32-30 advantage on points in the paint. Many of those interior points came when CB McGrath tried to exploit the Tar Heels defensively with repeated pick-and-rolls.
7. Christian Keeling hasn't really gotten on track through two games, but the Tar Heels continue to try and get him better looks. The very first play out of halftime--a juncture Roy Williams traditionally uses to try and find looks for his scorers--was a set for Keeling. The grad transfer finished with four points on 2-of-9 shooting.
8. Friday was the first of two true road games scheduled by the Tar Heels this season (the other is at Gonzaga in December). How unusual is that? Consider that the three other ACC teams ranked in the current Associated Press top 25 play a combined one true road game this season that isn't part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. In the past three seasons combined, Carolina will have played eight true road games outside of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Those three teams combined have played seven in that same span. The Tar Heels are now 30-14 all-time in nonconference away games under Roy Williams.
9. Interesting note: the game was Carolina's first-ever contest in Wilmington. That marks the 14th city or town in the state of North Carolina in which the Tar Heels have played, and the first new one since a game at UNC Asheville during the 1995-96 season.
10. Friday's win gives Roy Williams 873 career Division I victories. That ties him with Jim Calhoun for sixth place all-time. Next on the list is Adolph Rupp with 876 wins.
11. How beloved was Jackie Manuel in Chapel Hill? Nearly 15 years after he last played for the Tar Heels, there were multiple fans in the crowd Friday night sporting the infamous "Jackie Manuel has a posse" t-shirts.
12. C.B. McGrath's team is improved over last year. The Seahawks are better than their preseason CAA projections.
1. We're not even ten days into November and Carolina has an Atlantic Coast Conference win and a road win. That's a pretty good start, even if it hasn't always been artistic. Friday night's win was a 78-62 decision over UNC Wilmington.
2. Great night for Justin Pierce, who had a double-double before halftime. The graduate transfer did a little bit of everything, scoring from the outside (four three-pointers) and also hitting the offensive glass hard. Pierce had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
3. Carolina never really got into a rotation rhythm, due partially to Armando Bacot picking up two fouls in the first two minutes of the game. When Roy Williams tried to get Bacot back into the game later in the first half, the freshman big man suffered a blow to the head and had to go to the Carolina locker room. That led to both Brandon Huffman and Walker Miller getting some spot minutes in the post.
4. After taking 24 shots on Wednesday night (the most any Tar Heel has taken in the Roy Williams era), Cole Anthony took another 24 shots on Friday. With such a high shot volume, this might sound a little odd, but it never really felt like Anthony was overly forcing his offense. It's pretty simple: at this point in the year, the freshman is going to be the Tar Heels' primary offensive option while also playing the first- or second-most minutes on the team. Anthony didn't go to the bench in the second half until Carolina had stretched the lead to 20 points, and even then he only sat for a minute. Anthony poured in 20 points, including a highlight reel second half dunk. And you have to love this from a scorer--he even took a second half charge and also posted his second straight double-double while grabbing ten rebounds.
5. With Bacot out, Garrison Brooks shouldered a significant amount of the rebounding load, as he grabbed a career-high 13 boards and finished with his first career double-double (18 points and 13 rebounds). The junior big man has given Carolina a little bit of everything in the first two games, and also has been Carolina's best free throw shooter. He was overshadowed by Anthony on Wednesday and Pierce on Friday, but he has been terrific so far.
6. Areas that improved from Wednesday's season opener: the Tar Heel defense in transition was much tighter, limiting the Seahawks to six fast break points. Carolina took better care of the ball, committing just seven turnovers. Areas that weren't improved: UNC free throw shooting, hitting just 16 of 28 from the line (Carolina was 10-for-17 at the line against Notre Dame). And although UNCW missed some shots (the Seahawks shot just 19 percent from the three-point line), Carolina's overall defense suffered some breakdowns, as the undersized Seahawks actually held a 32-30 advantage on points in the paint. Many of those interior points came when CB McGrath tried to exploit the Tar Heels defensively with repeated pick-and-rolls.
7. Christian Keeling hasn't really gotten on track through two games, but the Tar Heels continue to try and get him better looks. The very first play out of halftime--a juncture Roy Williams traditionally uses to try and find looks for his scorers--was a set for Keeling. The grad transfer finished with four points on 2-of-9 shooting.
8. Friday was the first of two true road games scheduled by the Tar Heels this season (the other is at Gonzaga in December). How unusual is that? Consider that the three other ACC teams ranked in the current Associated Press top 25 play a combined one true road game this season that isn't part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. In the past three seasons combined, Carolina will have played eight true road games outside of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Those three teams combined have played seven in that same span. The Tar Heels are now 30-14 all-time in nonconference away games under Roy Williams.
9. Interesting note: the game was Carolina's first-ever contest in Wilmington. That marks the 14th city or town in the state of North Carolina in which the Tar Heels have played, and the first new one since a game at UNC Asheville during the 1995-96 season.
10. Friday's win gives Roy Williams 873 career Division I victories. That ties him with Jim Calhoun for sixth place all-time. Next on the list is Adolph Rupp with 876 wins.
11. How beloved was Jackie Manuel in Chapel Hill? Nearly 15 years after he last played for the Tar Heels, there were multiple fans in the crowd Friday night sporting the infamous "Jackie Manuel has a posse" t-shirts.
12. C.B. McGrath's team is improved over last year. The Seahawks are better than their preseason CAA projections.
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